Unlimited Revamp for the Pawn

There's an ongoing celebration at the grand hall, but here I am wandering around the castle's corridors. After more than a decade of fighting along with the team, Markus had been crowned king, and with his ascension, the promise of peace seemed within reach or my retirement atleast.

I checked my phone, the screen lit up and flooded with notifications about the coronation. A crooked smile tugged at my lips. After years of struggle and sacrifice, perhaps I should step down and live somewhere else. But considering how I've been treated in the group so far, I think probable absence wouldn't have much impact.

My name is Liam. Once, I was just another laborer working for a construction company. Markus, the owner's son, had hired me straight out of college. I finished engineering back then. But the economy was in dire shape, and office jobs were hard to get unless you have backing. Construction work wasn't glamorous, but the pay was decent.

Then the disaster came, or as we call it, the Millennial Chasm. The earth shook, the waters ebbed violently, and the behavior of all living creatures became unhinged. Animals in both land and sea, insects, and even people mutated into horrifying forms, driven by agression.

Just when all seemed lost, the towers descended from heaven. A beacon that can both attack monsters and defend its inhabitants, inside and outside a specific perimeter of the structure.

As I wandered aimlessly inside the castle's dimly lit halls, I stumbled upon an arcanely sealed room.

The revelry outside felt distant, almost unreal. I wasn't in the mood to celebrate. The light pulsed faintly, a murmur can be heard as it moves in a circular fashion. Curiosity got the better of me, and I reached out to touch it.

A sharp spark erupted, injuring my hand. My personal scroll, a black clothe-like parchment etched with golden letters, got released from my palm like flowing water.

I smirked. It only took a single point from a thousand of my health points. It still hurts like paper cut, though.

I'd faced worse in my years as a tanker, the initiator, walking into countless caves and battles (mostly involuntarily). Markus and the others relied on me to draw the enemy's attention while they finished the job with their weapons.

I pressed my hand against the seal again, bracing myself as it began to drain my health. My body trembled under the strain, but I endured. The scroll floated beside me, its numbers reducing greatly in seconds 834... 790... 472...

The seal's resistance was stronger than I'd anticipated. Fireworks exploded in the distance, their laughter and cheers are a stark contrast in this grueling task I'm in --- 241... 160... 50...

I was on the verge of retreating to grab a healing mist to recover, when the seal finally shattered with a deafening crack and fell like glass on the carpeted floor. The door creaked open, revealing an eerie room.

I stepped inside, and choked on the dust that accumulated in my throat. The walls were lined with stone tablets, each inscribed with the names of countries and, beneath them, the names of individuals ranked in some unknown order.

My heart raced as I scanned the tablets. Argentina, Bhutan, Greece...

They were arranged alphabetically. Then I found ours. My eyes widened, and a lump formed in my throat, like pebble.

Liam Loq, Rank 1.

Rank 1? What does that even mean? I scanned the rest of the names. Markus was ranked tenth. My mind raced with questions, but before I could make sense of it, my vision blurred. My head spiralled, and I collapsed on the floor. I felt a warm familiar scent of rustic liquid forming under me.

"I knew there was a rat," a voice sneered. Markus stepped into the room, his shadow looming over me. "Kammi reported the seal had been broken. Did you really think you could take this from me?" He knelt down, his eyes cold and calculating. "In this world, I'm the hero. You're just an extra I can step on to."

Darkness crept in, and my eyes closed as I stared on Markus' menacing smile.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

A deafening honk shattered the air. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, DUMBASS!" a male voice roared. Instinctively, I swerved the vehicle I was driving, narrowly avoiding a collision - only to crash into an electrical pole. The impact shook me and hurt my back. My e-bike dropped to its side, smoke coming out of the basted headlights.

"These e-vehicle drivers are cancers on the road!" a man in a shiny white SUV shouted as he rolled the window down, his alphanumeric plate ID - AAA 0000 - gleaming under the sunlight. He glared at me, hurling curses as he sped off. I blinked, confused and shaken. He'd been trying to overtake on the wrong side of the lane, yet I was the one getting yelled at.

My heart pounded erratically as I checked myself for injuries. Nothing broken I suppose, but my mind was racing. Where am I? This wasn't the tower castle. And Markus - that traitor! Where is he!?

I stumbled out of the e-bike, waving away the smoke from my face. The world around me felt... different, but distinctly familiar. My eyes landed on an electronic billboard flashing a message: "2028: SVERN Activation in Europe" My stomach dropped. 2028? That couldn't be right. It was supposed to be 2043. Had I... traveled back in time?

I turned to inspect the e-bike. My breath hitched. It was the same model I'd owned in 2026, the one I'd abandoned when the first waves of the Millennial Chasm hit.

Memories flooded back - the long rides, the storms, the girls I avoided, the money I'd saved up to buy it. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around the fallen bike, tears streaming down my pathetic face. It had been my faithful companion, and here it was, I'm holding it again, only for it to break down.

"Look, Mom, that guy's crying," a little boy said, pointing at me. He held a bright red balloon, his eyes wide with curiosity. His mother shot me a disapproving glance. "Don't look at him," she scolded, tugging his shirt. "And don't ever act like that crackhead on the street."

I ignored them, my mind racing. If this was really 2028, then I had a chance - a chance to change everything. I pulled out my phone, hands trembling, and dialed my parents' number. They picked up after a few rings.

"Liam? What's wrong?" my mom asked, her voice tinged with worry. I could barely speak through my sobbing. "Mom, I - I just needed to hear your voice," I choked out. My parents exchanged concerned murmurs on the other end, urging me to come home immediately. My sibling asked what the problem is about. But I couldn't say it, not yet.

"Mom," I said, finally regaining a bit of composure. "remember the island you were planning to sell to Uncle Jimmy?"

"Yes," she replied, clearly confused. "Why are you asking about that now?"

"Don't sell it," I insisted, my tone firm and mad. "No matter what happens, keep it. Please, Mom. Trust me."

There was a pause. She's clearly undecided, but she didn't question me further. "Alright, Liam. We'll keep it. Just... come home soon, okay?"

I hung up, my chest tight with emotion. That island was crucial. In the future, one of the highest towers would emerge there - a sanctuary from terror this world would face.

But Uncle Jimmy, who'd claimed the land as his own, had barred us from entering. Even as he is my mom's flesh and blood, he didn't let us in. Without a place to seek refuge, my family had perished during the disaster. This time, things would be different.

I wiped my tears and took a deep breath. The world didn't know what was coming, but I do. And I wasn't going to let history repeat itself. I'd have to handle a lot of things.